Los Angeles: Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar and cinema veteran Dilip Kumar were not included in the 'In Memoriam' segment of the 94th Academy Awards, an apparent oversight from the organisers that left Indian fans enraged. The absence of two of Indian cinema's giants from the 2022 Oscars ceremony was a glaring one, especially after the British Academy Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) honoured Mangeshkar and Kumar earlier this month.
In its 2021 edition, the Oscars featured actor Irrfan Khan and Oscar winning costume designer Bhanu Athaiya in its tributes section, while Bollywood stars Rishi Kapoor and Sushant Singh Rajput found mention on the official website of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The fans expressed their anger on Twitter, slamming the Academy for omitting the two Indian legends. One user wrote, "Shame that @TheAcademy didn't pay homage to the two all time greats - Lata Mangeshkar & Dilip Kumar..."
"They should have shown Lata Mangeshkar and Dilip Kumar in the In Memoriam section ..I mean come on man! They are CINEMA LEGENDS! Oscars," another person posted on Twitter. One more Twitteratti referred to Will Smith and Chris Rock's slapgate incident and posted, "So Oscars didn't have time to pay tribute to Indian legends Lata Mangeshkar & Dilip Kumar. Not that it should matter to us but they rightfully deserve a slap. Consider Will Smith charging at Oscar 2022"